Concrete Fortress: Contemporary Home-as-Castle Design

By Dornob Staff

One can almost picture tar pouring forth on would-be invaders from the symmetrical sets of holes left by rebar in the massive concrete facade. From layered fortifications to elevated walkways, solid stone-faced walls to towering wooden boxes, moat-like hallways to slot-like windows … you might say this house concept has a fair bit in common with a classic fairy-tale fortress or real-life medieval castle.

Inside and out, the most striking set of features on this structure are the hovering wooden boxes that sit to the back of the site and rise up with views all around. Their thin windows are reminiscent of archery slots – made wide enough for arrows, not people, to pass easily through.

A series of organic, maze-like walkways connect interior and exterior spaces within the walled abode – some of them elevated like ramparts and others carved moat-like through the middle or along the edges of the property. Courtyard and garden spaces within are well-sheltered from the outside world, while a more open green roof allows residents to look out on the world below.

Once within the innermost sanctum of this huge home, everything seems solid and safe – heavy concrete walls hold along the exterior borders while floating wood boxes seem lighter but likewise more protected for being set in the middle of the space. Whether real security was the issue or the goal was simply a sense of being secluded and protected, Iroje Kimhyoman architects created the ultimate contemporary castle for modern living.